SAN MATEO — Roblox began rolling out biometric age-checking technology in April to categorize account holders into age-based groups. This was in response to legal pressure concerning child safety. At least nine U.S. states have filed legal complaints against Roblox regarding child safety policies, and three other states have settled similar complaints.

The platform requires users to submit government documentation or complete a biometric scan to verify their age before gaining access to certain chat functions. More than 150 families have filed lawsuits against Roblox, claiming the platform did not prevent predators from targeting children. These lawsuits are consolidated into multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

An 11-year-old tested Roblox's age-estimation tool in late May at the company's headquarters, using a fake mustache. The system identified the tester as being between 9 and 12 years old. Eliza Jacobs, Roblox's vice president of safety product policy, said, "Sorry, you can tell your friends at school it doesn't work."

Roblox has implemented restrictions on direct communication between users during gameplay. Users aged 5 to 8 are assigned accounts that disable messaging by default and restrict access to games with minimal or mild maturity ratings. Users aged 9 to 15 have accounts that include additional chat functions and permit access to games with moderate maturity ratings. Those 16 and older retain access to the full library of games and standard chat features.

Roblox utilizes Persona, a third-party service, to conduct biometric age verification checks. The company states that this vendor permanently deletes biometric data immediately after age estimation is complete. Parents also have the option to manually assign age group parameters for their children's accounts.

No independent assessment was available for this report.